Journal article
Dissemination of vancomycin-resistant enterococci harboring vanA through disposal of waste derived from industrial production of vancomycin
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, 1870 Frederiksberg C., Denmark. lg@kvl.dk1
We demonstrated the occurrence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in waste derived from the industrial production of vancomycin and their dissemination through disposal of such waste into a sewage treatment plant. Bacteriological counts on a medium selective for enterococci (Slanetz-Bartley agar) revealed the presence of high numbers of presumptive VRE (approximately 10(6) CFU/ml) in the waste originating from the fermentation biomass used for vancomycin production.
The waste was also found to contain active residues of vancomycin (64-1,024 microg/ml) by bioassays using a vancomycin-susceptible enterococcal strain. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of 65 presumptive VRE isolates from the waste allowed distinction of four genotypes, two of which (A and D) belonged to the genus Enterococcus, most likely E. faecium, and harbored the vanA gene conferring high-level vancomycin resistance.
The same VRE strains found in the waste occurred also in the biological tanks and the final effluent of the sewage treatment plant receiving the waste, as demonstrated by the detection of undistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns in VRE isolated from these sources. These results indicate the need to assess the possible dissemination of VRE and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria through disposal of waste derived from antibiotic production.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |
Year: | 2002 |
Pages: | 401-406 |
ISSN: | 10766294 and 19318448 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1089/10766290260469688 |
Anti-Bacterial Agents Bacterial Proteins Carbon-Oxygen Ligases Colony Count, Microbial DNA, Bacterial Drug Industry Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field Enterococcus Industrial Waste Medical Waste Disposal Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Specimen Handling VanA ligase, Bacteria VanB protein, Enterococcus Vancomycin Vancomycin Resistance